Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo Wii)
Rated “E” for Everyone
The sequel to the very popular “Wii Sports” is here for your Nintendo Wii. And it comes with the extra accessory of MotionPlus giving you the 1:1 motion you thought the Wii would have had from the start.
First, a highly informative video about the MotionPlus.
So…now that you know how not to handle your new toy, you are dropped onto
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Swordplay
Duel (1-2 players) – Battle 1-on-1 with an opponent and knock them off the platform into the water below.
Speed Slice (1-2 players) – Compete against an opponent to see who can slice falling objects the fastest with the precise slice (shown by a directional arrow).
Showdown (1 player) – Fight against an army of oncoming Miis and survive to the end of the level.
Good – Swordplay has been the all-around favorite for players. The MotionPlus does a great job of swinging the sword the exact way you do. Duel and Speed Slice are great for multiplayer and Showdown is a nice rendition of the 100 VS 1 (you) type of games. Later Duel and Showdown matches forces you to learn how to properly block in order to win. All game modes are a great display of how precise the MotionPlus 1:1 works.
Bad – It is possible to turn any of these into a shake-the-Wiimote-wildy fest, but not as bad as you may think. Showdown loses points in the fact that most of the oncoming Miis will stand around and wait their turn before attempting to attack or block.
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Wakeboarding (1-4 players taking turns)
Use the waves trailing the motorboat to make jumps and pull off tricks for points.
Good – A nice simple game of balance.
Bad – There isn’t much to this game to warrant much continuing play. All you do is jerk the Wiimote up to jump off a wave and then try to balance yourself out to land properly to earn points. Players may get frustrated thinking they have the Wiimote as flat as possible (but forget about the water not being flat) and not earning points.
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Frisbee (1-4 players taking turns)
Frisbee Dog – Toss the Frisbee out towards the center of the target for your dog to catch. Earn extra points by learning how to curve the Frisbee to hit point balloons.
Frisbee Golf – Play golf by throwing a Frisbee. The same rules apply as in normal Golf, it’s just that your throw a Frisbee instead of swinging a club.
Good – Frisbee Dog is fairly simple and easy for anyone to take an attempt at and do fairly well. Both modes really show how you need the MotionPlus to do something like this. Throwing at certain points at certain angles really does matter and it shows by where your Frisbee goes.
Bad – There is little to do in Frisbee Dog other than just tossing the Frisbee out there. The dog will do the rest. Frisbee Golf requires more skill and more patience. Just like normal Golf, Frisbee Golf can be long and drawn out especially if you haven’t grasped how to properly throw.
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Archery (1-4 players taking turns)
Use the Wiimote and Nunchuk like a bow and arrow and hit targets from a distance.
Good – Another one of the better examples of how the MotionPlus works. Archery is also a simple enough game that makes you want to come back and improve your skills. Getting bulls eyes from close or from afar is very rewarding. This scheme of play can easily translate to any other game that may involve archery (…Zelda).
Bad – Wind factors more when aiming a target that is farther away. Trying to find the hidden targets is very tough.
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Basketball (1-2 players)
3-Point Contest – Sink as many shots as you can within the time limit. You go to 5 different stations each with 5 balls (one Money Ball) and try to nail 3-pointers from downtown.
Pickup Game (3-On-3) – Play a quick pickup game against an opposing team of 3. Dribble, steal, block, shoot, and dunk to show who is the king of the court.
Good – The 3-Point Contest is definitely fun and fast paced alone or with an opponent. The controls simulate throwing a basketball well enough to make it work. The 3-On-3 Game can be surprisingly fun (to skeptics) and can bring on some well deserved trash talk. Dunking on a defender is very satisfying.
Bad – The controls may simulate throwing a basketball too well. Those that don’t get into it and are just throwing the ball will notice their shots being lobbed and going nowhere. Players can be turned off by not having full control of your Miis in the half-court game. While it still works well, there may be times you feel too confined as to how you can maneuver on the court. The analog on the Nunchuk could easily have been used to control where you want your Miis to go as you dribble.
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Table Tennis
Match (1-2 players) – Play against an opponent to see who can score 6 points (deuce pending) first to and win the match.
Return Challenge (1 player) – Return as many serves as possible until you fail.
Good – This is basically Tennis from the original “Wii Sports,” which isn’t bad. You have a smaller field to worry about and the games can be fast and frantic. The MotionPlus is displayed well in how you hold your paddle and how you hit the ball (adding spins and curves).
Bad – Accidental spinning and curving may happen for those not aware of what the MotionPlus can do. Return Challenge can be too random in serve delivery and can simply end a hot streak with a simple mistake.
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Golf (1-4 players taking turns)
Tee off at the links.
Good – New courses. Inclusion of MotionPlus adds a little more realism to swinging the golf club.
Bad – Same as the original in “Wii Sports.” Inclusion of MotionPlus adds a little more realism (and possibly frustration) to swinging the golf club.
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Bowling (1-4 players taking turns)
Standard Game – Play a normal 10 frames of bowling.
100-Pin Game – The training extra from the original “Wii Sports” is back. Now it’s 10 whole frames with the best score being a possible 3000.
Spin Control – Another training extra with a nice set of challenges for you to master your throwing skills on the lanes.
Good – Same as the original “Wii Sports” with the small addition of more control of curving the ball, which you can really tell in Spin Control mode. The 100-Pin Game is more rewarding this time and earning a strike is pleasing to see.
Bad – MotionPlus addition with the curving may not be a big deal if you can knock down pins easily with a strong straight shot.
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Power Cruising
Slalom Course (1-4 players taking turns) – Ride your cruiser along the waves and through the rings to earn points.
VS (2 players) – Race to the goal against a friend
Good – Very simple to pick up and play. The way you hold the Wiimote and Nunchuk as jet ski handles works. This way of play could be the start of a possible new “Wave Race” game on the Wii.
Bad – Very simple. Races aren’t that long. The way you hold the controls can be tiring on your arms after a
while. The MotionPlus isn’t big other than HOW you are holding the controls.
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Canoeing
Speed Challenge (1-4 players cooperatively) – Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream…to the finish line before time expires.
VS (2-4 players) – Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream…to the finish line before you opponent beats you there.
Good – Great…canoeing…simulation. Cooperative play can lead to hilarity.
Bad – Canoeing…simulation. The least favorite game talked about amongst players. It is also the most physically demanding, slowest, and least satisfying out of all the games available.
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Cycling
Road Race (1-2 players) – Race against other resort members along different trails on WuHu Island.
VS (2 players) – Race against another player all over WuHu Island.
Good – A great arm workout.
Bad – Pedaling a bike…with your arms. The MotionPlus responsiveness seems off when making turns and all pedal kicks/flails don’t seem to be registered properly. As physically demanding as this can be, the fact that you can tire your Mii out will cause you to slow down and take a breather.
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Air Sports
Skydiving (1 player) – Drop out of a plane and try to link up with other Miis and take great pictures wall falling down from the sky.
Island Flyover (1 player) – Fly all around WuHu Island and see all the spots that you have played on. Learn little bits of the island and see how large and expansive it really is.
Dogfight (2 players) – Battle a friend across the skies over WuHu Island. Pop the most balloons to win the match.
Good – All modes are great showcases for how precise the MotionPlus is. Skydiving’s concept (holding your Wiimote the way you want your Mii to fall) is simple yet earning a high score can be a challenge. Island Flyover and Dogfight take the “holding a paper plane” concept and making it work. Pulling aerial tricks is very simple and precise and flying over the island to see where everything is at is impressive.
Bad – Skydiving might not be as impressive. Dogfight lacks a map, which can make games boring and long.
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There are Stamps (Achievements) in every game. They range from the “you did it without knowing” easy to “that’s…impossible” hard. It’s a nice touch as opposed to just playing the games continuously without anything else after.
The Wii MotionPlus is showcased very well in this game. While not all of the games are hits or don’t show much use of the MotionPlus, these trials show potential for future games that wish to incorporate this added function. You may find yourself having to recalibrate the MotionPlus after extended lengths of play, but that’s not a bad thing. At least it is easily fixable. What isn’t easily fixable is how quickly playing these games can drain your batteries. You’re looking at 2-3 hours max of straight playtime off of new batteries.
While the package is a mixed bag of fun and not fun, as a whole, the island games are fun and can really bring people together to have fun like the original “Wii Sports” did. Some may be turned off by how accurate the controls may be (those could very well be the same people that complained about how “Wii Sports” wasn’t accurate at all). This could be one of those games that shows how good or how bad you really are at the real life games they are representing. So if you plan to shake your Wiimote like a stick, you’ll lose. Taking the time to actually practice and get better will definitely show and your skills will improve over time. But in the end, “Wii Sports Resort” does deliver fun and you shouldn’t complain when you’re having fun. So take some friends along and enjoy yourself at the resort.
Rated 4 out 5
X-Play’s Review
Zero Punctuation’s Review
WiiViewer’s Review
GameTrailers’ Review
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